councilor.org
| Source | Bill Lear |
| Date | 03/12/22/10:32 |
| In the long tradition of frightening domestic populations against
evil, foreign monsters, the Bush administration has again pressed the terror button, raising the "antiterrorism" alert status from yellow to orange --- the second highest level --- just at the peak of the holiday season. The idea is: when you think of Santa, be very, very afraid. The Bush regime of course knows that there is nothing whatsoever that citizens can do with this information, which is in fact why it is nothing more than egregious terror-mongering that has as its sole purpose the attenuation of political dissent and instillation of broad, unfocused terror in the general public. What, exactly, are we supposed to do? Wear an extra layer of body armor? Walk just a little faster when we see that jumbo jet overhead? Be more "vigilant"? What does this all mean? In practice, it means that the population simply becomes more alarmed about these unspecified threats of violence, that the terrible acts of September 11, 2001 are again pushed in front of our faces for political gain, and that the Bush regime can continue to blur the line between the so-called "war on terror" and its utterly illegal, unjustified, and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq. As they are trained to do, the US media obediently relays these blatant acts of cynical propaganda without batting an eye. No question is ever raised as to the track record of truth-telling by those who claim to have "credible evidence" of impending terrorist attacks. We were told of "credible evidence" that Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear weapons with uranium from Niger; we were told of "credible evidence" that Saddam Hussein was "an ally" of Al-Qaeda; we were told of "credible evidence" that Iraq was trying to purchase aluminum tubes for processing uranium; we were told by George W. Bush himself that "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories"; we were told of "credible information" that Iraq was "six months away" from developing nuclear weapons; we were told of "credible evidence" that Iraq possessed a fleet of unmanned aircraft that could be used "for missions targeting the United States". All blatant lies used for political ends, and each time the alert system is used we are bombarded with a fresh heap of unhelpful but politically useful stories of "credible information" that bad guys are out to get your momma, your dog, and your best friends. This all begs the question of the wisdom of a security system that advertises to the bad guys when we think we are on to them. Wouldn't it be better to let the public "go about their business" as Mayor Bloomberg of New York urges, and to just let the guys with the white hats silently go about their business of catching the evil ones? But that would dilute the terrorizing effect that is so strenuously sought by the irresponsible "conservatives" who rule us now, and who have well learned the principles espoused by those such as Hermann Goering who in 1936 said: ... it is always a simple matter to drag the people along ... All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. Remember people: if you hear a jingling on the roof and mysterious sounds from the chimney, don't forget to shoot first and ask questions later --- it could be Osama coming to get you. |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho